The dispensing of fuel as at a service station, of a more recent vintage, substantially includes the dispensing and sale of gasoline through the self service method of refueling ones vehicle. This has now been occurring for over the past thirty to forty years. Previously, when gasoline was dispensed, it was done by the service station attendant, who would locate the nozzle within the vehicle tank, dispense the gas, wipe the windows, clean the headlights, and then replace the nozzle back into the dispenser, once refueling has been accomplished. Rarely was there ever a problem of causing damage to the dispensing equipment, because the attendant made sure everything was in order, and the nozzle was reinstalled within its dispenser, with little or no chance of an inadvertent drive off by the vehicle operator. But, since self service has come into existence, it is a more frequent occurrence that once a driver has applied self service to fill up his/her fuel tank, and either make payment at the pump, or to go inside the facility to pay by cash or credit card, it does more frequently occur that the location of the fuel dispensing nozzle, in the vehicle fill pipe, is forgotten, and the driver will sometimes drive off, pulling the nozzle and the fuel hose with them, resulting in substantial damage to the dispensing system, its hose, the nozzle, and encounter fuel spillage.
As a result of the foregoing, it has become a necessity to include a form of breakaway coupling within the fuel dispensing hose, and usually they can be found high up on the hose near the dispenser, and ready for application when necessary. Thus, should the driver forget, and drive off with the nozzle still in the vehicle, while the hose may be stretched, once it reaches a specified force, such as approximately 100 lbs or more, the breakaway coupling will separate, its internal check valves will be released into closure, and thereby preventing any further flow of fuel, and even stop any back flow of fuel from the nozzle through the separated hose, for spilling onto the ground. By this time the driver should have been alerted to the fact that something is wrong, that the dispensing nozzle may have been left within the fill pipe, and therefore, immediately stops, in an attempt to remedy the problem. At this stage, the station attendant can look over the equipment, and if it does not appear that any damage has been sustained, he can simply reinstall the breakaway connector, and place the dispensing system back into immediate service, as required.
The assignee of this current invention and patent application has received many United States patents upon various types of breakaway hose coupling devices.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,977 shows one such Breakaway Hose Coupling, which is generally held in position and coupled by means of detents that secure the coupling in its usable position. But, when an excessive force is encountered upon the fuel line hose, the detents separate from the coupling and allow the pair of fittings to separate, to prevent further damage to the nozzle, or to the hose and the dispenser to which it connects. Such also prevents fuel spillage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,973 shows another Break-Away Concentric Hose Coupling. It likewise is held into position through the use of fittings, and which coupling can be reconnected, after it has been inadvertently separated. The coupling also includes one or more check valves, which prevent the further flow of fuel from the separated hose, when decoupling occurs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,934 shows another Break-Away Concentric Hose Coupling. This coupling is held together through the use of a series of springs, that maintain the coupling in its useable condition, but which separates when excessive force has been encountered.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,695 shows a further Breakaway Coupling and Coupler Therefor. This one is held in its usable position through the use of a series of detent balls.
There is another U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,023, that shows a Disposable Breakaway Nozzle Connector, and in this instance, is a separable connector, that incorporates a pair of the check valves to prevent fluid discharge when an untimely decoupling of the connector occurs. These are all for application within a fuel line hose, connected to a fuel dispenser.
The applicant has other applications pending, as can be noted in the cross reference for this particular application.
Various other breakaway hose couplings can be seen in the United States patent to Carmack, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,131, upon a Breakaway Hose Coupling with Manual Rotational Separation, and which attains its separation through a manual rotation of its two male and female tubular valve bodies.
Other breakaway couplings can be seen in the patent to Carmack, U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,683, which is a Breakaway Coupling for a Coaxial Fuel Supply Hose.
Of more recent vintage, is the use of magnets for holding the breakaway coupling together, and which coupling when subjected to a significant force, such as in the range of 150 lbs of pressure, as promulgated by various state regulations, such as the California Air Resources Board, subjects that type of force to a breakaway coupling, the magnets separate the coupling and allow the standard internal check valves to close, to prevent any further fuel flow or spillage. This can also be seen in the Carmack U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,112, which provides a Breakaway Hose Coupling with a Magnetic Connection. In this particular breakaway, the magnets used are arcuate permanent magnets, made of ferrous metal, and as can be seen in its FIG. 2, these magnets are held in position by means of location within an annular groove, within its annular support member, to function as the means for engaging a strike member to hold the connection during routine usage. This device also defines the use of cover members, one that surrounds the other, in a telescopic relationship.
Another breakaway hose coupling utilizing magnets is also shown in the United States patent to Imler, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,796, upon a Breakaway Hose Coupling with a Magnetic Connection. This particular unit also uses a plurality of circumferentially spaced arcuate permanent magnets, which are recessed within its associated groove, of its supporting member, to hold the coupling in place.
The use of telescoping sleeves in releasable fluid couplings can be seen in the early U.S. Pat. No. 3,317,220, in addition to U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,099. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,941 shows the use of sleeves within fluid couplings. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,905,733, and 6,283,151, show the use of sleeves within breakaway couplings.
With regard to the use of magnets for forming couplings, back as early as the 1960's, U.S. Pat. No. 3,181,895, shows annular magnets used in a Quick-Connect Magnetic Couplings for a high pressure flow line. It can be seen that these are also annular magnets.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,048, shows a Magnetic Coupling, of a quick disconnect type. This patent describes the use of permanent magnets that encircle the body member of a coupling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,110, discloses a Vapor Recovery Nozzle that utilizes a permanent magnet to control its operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,712, shows a Magnetically Latchable Liquid Dispensing Nozzle. The shown magnet is radially disposed about the nozzle spout.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,295, shows a Magnet Couplings for Metal Tubes, wherein permanent magnets are used to provide for connection of the tubes that carry fluids, especially gases, during usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,474, shows the use of magnetic units for holding various components of a breakaway means that provides a signal when a vehicle has inadvertently driven away with the nozzle in its fuel tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,230, shows the use of circular magnets to form a Quick Release Adapter for Connecting an Exhaust Removal Hose to a Vehicle Tail Pipe Using Magnets. These are round magnets, as shown.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,439, described as a Frangible Connectors, shows the use of permanent magnets within a breakaway connection for a fuel line. These permanent magnets are provided in a circular array around the flow line. See its FIG. 59.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,511, shows the use of magnets for holding vapors within a vehicle fuel tank.
The patent to Krynicki, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,354, discloses the use of magnets for holding a separable connector within a fluid passage line.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,041, shows a Magnetically Latched Multi-Valve System for a fluid flow line.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,753,079, discloses Magnetic Coupling for Sprayheads.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,088, discloses a Quick Connect Coupling, utilizing magnets.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,263 shows an Internal Sleeve Type Pipe Coupling with Magnetically Secured External Sleeve Means.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,057, discloses a Magnetic Hose Coupling.
The patent to Busch, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 7,793,987, shows the use of circular magnets for providing a magnetic coupling assembly for coupling portions of a gas delivery system together. It shows a multiple array of round magnets located around the periphery of the gas flow delivery system.
These are examples of a full array of prior art materials that disclose the use of permanent magnets, even round magnets, for use for holding flow lines together, and even fuel flow lines, and which magnets have even been used in breakaway coupling mechanisms, to hold its components together, during their application and usage. Hence, the prior art is replete with the use of permanent magnets for providing couplings within pipes and passageway structures as can be noted.
In fact, as previously alluded to, the California Air Resources Board “CARB” dictates that a breakaway connector must be able to resist pressures up to 100 lbs, but will separate at that magnitude of force, when a force greater than 100 lbs of pressure is exerted upon the fuel flow line for the gasoline dispenser system. But, of more recent regulation, the European market requires that the breakaway force necessary to separate a fuel line breakaway connector must be of greater magnitude, even greater than 200 lbs of pressure, which necessitated the further design of the current invention, in order to achieve a pull force in the range between 200 lbs-300 lbs of pressure, to separate a breakaway connector, in order to meet the European ATEX standards. The current invention has a structured integrally to achieve such.
Another aspect of the current invention is coupling the breakaway connector with a swivel mechanism, so as to add greater flexibility to the shifting and pivoting of the nozzle, and the fuel line hose, as it is being applied to replenish the fuel within a vehicle.
Another aspect of this invention is the usage of a such swivel connection in combination with the breakaway coupling. The applicants' assignee has a variety of patents upon swivel connectors. For example, Pat. No. Des. 268,612, shows a Swivel Connector for Hose or the Like. The prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,547 shows the internal mechanisms that make up the construction of a Multi-Plane Swivel Connector. Finally, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,817, further discloses a Bearinged Swivel Connector for Fuel Dispensing Nozzle. These are examples of various types of swivel connectors, for use in the fuel line hose for a fuel dispenser. But, using one of these swivels just adjacent to and constructed into the structure of a breakaway connector, it is submitted, may not have been previously attempted.